The Clifton clarion., 1887-08-31
GRAHAM COUNTY.
Her Resources and Her POsSibi1-
 iites.

of facts, by resident of Arizona of twenty-three years, raised on the frontier, who has been farmer, stockman and miner, by turns.
 Probably in few countries did nature ever enclose in so compact form so many of the elements of human comfort and civilization as in this county of Graham, the fore most of which is agriculture, which, with the enlightened spirit now applied to it, raises it from mere mechanical drudgery to the dig nity of q science, and as the eli matic conditions are known, and the composition of the earth is analysed, we have learned the ca pacity of the soil we cultivate. Graham, the youngest county of Arizona, at this time the least known-whether we consider the variety of its soil and climate, the inexhaustible stores of its mineral wealth, its scenery, grand and pie turesque beyond example, its tim Der, its mineral springs, or its in telligent population embraces l. 100000 acres lying in the south eastern portion of the Territory of Arizona and contains at present some 1000 souls. It has thirteen school districts with 960 pupils en- rolled and its taxable property has increased Tn value over 20per cent the past year. It is easily reached by the Arizona & New Mexico rail road from Lordsburg, New Mex ico, and from Bowie and Wilcox on the Southern Pacific railroad, which are both a short distance from the county line. There are in the county two permanent gov ernment posts-Fort Grant, the acknowledged best located cavalry post in the Territory, and Fort Thomas on the Gila River; and in these garrisons of 800 men and 300 horses are found market for the produce of the Gila Valley. It has two saw mills, from which lumber is delivered in the towns of the Gila Valley at $50 per thous- and. The building material is chiefly adobe or sun-dried brick, but kiln-burned brick of extra quality are made. There is one Touring mill at Stafford, an ice machine in operation at Fort Thomas, and one weekly newspa- per. THE CLIFTON CLARION, pub lished at Clifton Its mining in- dustries are represented by the ex- tensive copper smelling plants of the Arizona Copper Company and the Detroit Copper Company. The Gila river crosses il from East to West, which, with its tributaries, the Rio San Francisco, the Eagle, Blue, Black and the Rio Bonito, all running streams, make 1t by far the best watered county in the Territory. Fish abound in these rivers, from the Colorado salmon in the Gila to the speckled noun
 tain trout of the Blue; and on the summit of Mount Graham, five thousand feet above the Gila Valley, are found ponds filled with dace. The virtue of it's mineral waters are undisputed, and the unsettled and yet little understood northern portion of the county abounds in game, such as bear, deer, turkey and quail.
 The attractions of this county to those seeking new homes may be summarized in a sentence: She possesses the advantages of being most healthfully located in a lati- tude of genial climate and un- bounded natural resources; she has been sleeping a long sleep, visited by many troubled dreams, and from this she is barely begin ming to awake; but the full awak- ening is at hand. And it bids fair to precede a period of growth, business activity and prosperity hitherto undreamed of. In min ing matters she has been a staunch adherent of King Copper, but she is now transferring her allegiance to silver and gold, and when. as shippers to ali parts of the world of the incalculable mineral wealth of Graham county, her people in active cooperation and sympathy with its producers, she will be a seat of wealth and power beyond the conception of those who know